Dear Friends and Neighbours,

This month on 16th June it is Father’s Day. For many it’s a time to celebrate and be thankful for their father and the father figures in their lives but for others it’s a day that some really struggle with …for all kinds of reasons. Some struggle because it’s a reminder of the loss of a father or father figure in their lives, for some it’s a painful reminder of difficult and even abusive relationships with their fathers. Whatever your feelings are about Father’s Day it does give us a chance to reflect on the nature of fatherhood.

The Bible contains many metaphors and images of God in relationship with humanity. Some of these images are drawn from experiences of mothering, some are drawn from the natural world, and some are abstract, but one of the key images of God in the Christian faith is God the Father. The last time Jesus’ earthly father Joseph appears in the Gospel narrative is when Jesus is about twelve years old… so it may be that Jesus’ own experience included the absence of the man who had brought him up as father. As an adult, Jesus referred to God as ‘Father’ many times exploring the idea beautifully in his parable of the Prodigal Son.

In this parable, the father gives his younger son independence… giving him his inheritance early and allowing him to leave home. The father watches as his son takes off … and lives a life of extravagance making many questionable life choices. The son sinks into poverty and despair… eventually deciding the only thing he can do is to return to his Father and accept his disgrace. However, when the father glimpses his son returning in the distance, he runs to embrace him; hugging him he draws his son back into a relationship. The Father doesn’t just forgive his son but his forgiveness is super-abundant…as he throws a feast to celebrate his return. In this story Jesus gives us a glimpse of what it means to have God as our Father. God is the good Father who is as generous, always looking to welcome us home; He is patient and forgiving and loves us more than we can imagine.

We all need a Father like this; God wants to be OUR Father… He is always waiting for US to come home to Him, He’s forever patient… always looking to forgive us… and always abundantly generous in His love and His grace when we return to Him.

I hope that this year you can celebrate Father’s Day in a new way… no matter what your relationship with your father is like or was like …I hope you will be able to celebrate the fact that each one of us has a wonderful compassionate Heavenly Father …who longs to love us and be Our Father. If you’d like to join us in Church to celebrate Father’s Day there are services at Hopton at 9.30am, Barningham at 11.00am and Market Weston at 11.00am …We’d love to see you.

Have a great June. God Bless. Rev Cathy x